Foreigners vs balut: Who wins?

MANILA, Philippines – Filipinos love to eat. There is no doubt about it. But we can’t remember any other time where Filipino food has been this controversial.

The conversation about food exploded after a Norwegian tourist in the Philippines published a blog about how she was expecting delicious Filipino food, but instead got a sloppy excuse for it. She said she would “rather go hungry.” 

Some netizens posted several responses, saying she probably didn’t do her research properly. Others supported her, while several others were just completely outraged. (READ: A nation of hypocrites? Response to ‘I’d rather go hungry’ girl)

Now that the fire is starting to subside, let’s look at the lighter side of Filipino food. Or in this case, how amusing it could be to watch someone, anyone – foreign or even a Filipino “slashie” – eat a very popular Filipino food for the first time: balut. 

For those who are not familiar with it, balut is regarded as an exotic delicacy by Filipinos and other Asians, and one of the most feared by those who’ve never eaten a partially matured duck egg.

The egg is believed to be a source of strength and virility, but that isn’t enough to convince those with weaker stomachs to swallow the bird peering out from the eggshell, the first thing you see when you crack it open.

So let’s stop being so angry at foreigners for one second and let’s have a good laugh, yeah?

Here are the funniest or most interesting reactions we’ve found:

Many Americans learned about balut through popular US TV show Fear Factor. While the fear may seem silly to us, the gagging sounds made by the host show just how strange they find our balut.

Popular food show host Anthony Bourdain eats balut, described as “duck fetus,” in the YouTube caption of the video. We give him points for not making any faces afterwards.

Would you pay your foreign friends to eat balut? These girls were paid to eat it.

How many baluts can you eat? And how fast? Here’s a video of a balut-eating contest in New York:

Here’s a compilation of hilarious reactions to people seeing the balut (or bal-loot as they would say it in the video). Be ready for spitting and gagging action.

American reality show Hell’s Kitchen apparently made balut a punishment for a losing team. Punishment? Most here would consider it a reward! Well, this punishment got the losing team crying. Watch:

Got anymore? Share them below. – Rappler.com

(READ: Watch foreigners speak Filipino languages fluently)